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Hi, I’m Dave and welcome to my blog. I’m passionate about life, cycling, bushcraft, photography, and helping and inspiring others to live their lives as fully as possible.

I’ve lived in the Doric Heartland that is the North East of Scotland for almost all of my life. I’ve also been fortunate that my career has enabled me to travel the world.

Up until 2012 I’d led a fairly normal, but increasingly unbalanced life. It was during this year my world was thrown into turmoil. I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. I had surgery to remove the tumour and underwent a course of chemotherapy. Both of which were pretty tough going.

That was the trigger for me to change my lifestyle. I ditched the sedate and unhealthy life I’d allowed myself to lead and took up cycling [again], healthy living and adjusted my work / life balance to be well…. more balanced.

For the next two years, I managed to maintain a healthy life, enjoyed more time with my family, got fit and re-invigorated my passion for cycling.

This sounds a great story, but life doesn’t always work out as planned. It has a habit of throwing curveballs and sending us off on diversions. A further two events changed the direction of my life.

At the end of 2014 a downturn in the industry I worked in saw me being without employment for the first time in my adult life.

In 2015 I underwent two rounds of major surgery to remove secondary tumours which had spread from the original bowel cancer. The first surgery removed a segment from my right lung. The second surgery removed the upper lobe from my left lung which turned out to about 70% of the total lung.

These events have significantly changed my outlook on life. I’ve become a stronger more positive person. I’ve realized that happiness isn’t about possessions and money. It’s about living life, sharing and enjoying time with family and friends. It’s about passion and living in the moment.

So here I am, recovering and in my next stage on the journey of life. A diversion from what I’d aspired to and planned. I hope my story helps and inspires you to make the most of your life.